1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin film device in which thin film elements are formed on a substrate and a thin film pattern is formed on the thin film elements, and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a thin film device in which thin film elements such as thin film transistors or photosensors are formed on a substrate, a thin film pattern such as a conductive film for preventing charging or detecting static electricity is formed on an undercoat for protecting the thin film elements and supporting the thin film pattern to be formed as an upper layer.
For example, in a fingerprint authentication device disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2003-91510, an insulating protective film is formed between transistors constituting photosensors and a static electricity removing electrode on the surface. This insulating protective film constitutes an undercoat that protects the transistors and supports the static electricity removing electrode of the thin film pattern.
The static electricity removing electrode film in the fingerprint authentication device described above is formed by a transparent electrode and has a small film thickness of about a few hundred Å to a few thousand Å. The insulating protective film has a film thickness enough to protect the transistors, e.g., a film thickness of a few μm to a few ten μm. The static electricity removing electrode film is patterned into a predetermined shape in at least a peripheral region of the formation region of the transistors.